The next morning, Su Yaoyao left the manor with Granny Lin, Jingzhe, and Chuntao.
The three shops in the western part of the city had been her mother’s most valued assets: a silk shop, a rouge shop, and a tea house.
The location was prime, and business should have been thriving. But under Lady Liu’s management over the years, the accounts showed consistent losses.
“Miss, we’ve arrived.” The carriage stopped, and Chuntao lifted the curtain.
Su Yaoyao looked up.
The shopfronts were imposing, three stores lined up side by side. Yet at this hour, only the silk shop had a half-open door, and the inside was eerily quiet, with no customers in sight.
Frowning, she stepped down from the carriage.
As soon as she entered Jinxiuzhuang, a lazy voice called from inside:
“No new stock today. Want fabric? Go somewhere else… Oh? Who’s this young lady?”
The shopkeeper, a man in his forties with a long face and small mustache, had been napping in a chair behind the counter. At first, he was stunned to see Su Yaoyao, then his expression changed when he noticed Granny Lin behind her.
“Granny Lin?!” He hurriedly stood and forced a smile. “What wind blew you here?”
Granny Lin’s face was stern. “Shopkeeper Wang, this is the lady of the manor. She’s here to audit the accounts today.”
“L-Lady of the manor?” Wang’s eyes flickered nervously.
“Oh! You’re the young lady? Pardon my poor eyesight… Please, take a seat! Boy, bring tea!”
“No need.” Su Yaoyao walked straight to the counter. “Bring the ledgers.”
Wang’s smile stiffened. “Th-the ledgers were sent to the manor a few days ago for Lady Liu’s review… they haven’t been returned yet.”
“Sent to the manor?” Su Yaoyao raised an eyebrow. “I asked Aunt yesterday, and she said the ledgers were in the shop.”
“Th-that… must be a mistake…” Wang’s forehead glistened with sweat.
“Or… Lady, perhaps you can come back another day? I’ll personally deliver the ledgers once they return from the manor.”
His excuse was too obvious.
Su Yaoyao wasn’t angered. She turned to Jingzhe: “Check the back hall.”
“Hey! You can’t go there!” Wang tried to stop him, but Jingzhe sidestepped and lifted the curtain, walking straight in.
Soon, Jingzhe returned holding several thick ledgers. “Miss, found them. At the bottom of a box in the storage room.”
Wang’s face went pale.
Su Yaoyao took the ledgers and flipped to a page casually.
After a few glances, she smiled.
“Shopkeeper Wang, your accounting is… interesting.”
Only a few pages later, her brow furrowed.
“Last December, a batch of Shu brocade came in, recorded as 1,000 taels. But the stock records show sales worth only 300 taels. Where did the remaining 700 taels of fabric go?”
Wang’s face drained of color. “Th-this… must be a mistake…”
“A mistake?” Su Yaoyao flipped to the next page. “This February, there’s a 500-tael ‘repair fee.’ But this shop was renovated last August. Where were repairs needed?”
She snapped the ledger shut, eyes cold.
“Shopkeeper Wang, when my mother hired you, it was for your honesty and integrity. During Lady Liu’s management, how much have you embezzled? You know best.”
Wang fell to his knees. “Miss, please judge! I-I was careless… all because Lady Liu forced me! She said if I didn’t falsify accounts, I’d be fired…”
“Forced?” Su Yaoyao sneered. “So all the silver you’ve taken over the years… was that under her coercion too?”
She pulled a document from her sleeve and slapped it on the counter. “This is your family’s bank record over the last three years. Your personal account has gained two thousand taels. Shopkeeper Wang, your monthly salary is ten taels—where did the rest come from?”
Wang’s face turned ashen. He collapsed.
Su Yaoyao ignored him. “Jingzhe, report this to the authorities. Embezzling the master’s property—punish according to the law.”
“Yes, Miss!”
Suddenly, a commotion rose outside.
“What’s happening?” Su Yaoyao frowned.
Chuntao rushed in, pale. “Miss, some thugs outside claim our silk is inferior and demand compensation!”
Su Yaoyao smiled coldly.
They arrived quickly.
She walked to the front hall and saw three burly men blocking the entrance. The leader had a scarred face, shaking a visibly damaged Yun brocade.
“Where’s the shopkeeper? Get him out here!” the scarred man shouted.
“Look at this junk! I paid fifty taels for this Yun brocade, and it tears immediately! Refund me or I’ll smash your shop today!”
The assistants trembled, but dared not step forward. A crowd of onlookers had gathered.
Su Yaoyao glanced at the ‘Yun brocade’—coarse material, uneven dye. Not the shop’s legitimate product.
“Sir,” she said clearly, “you claim to have bought this from our shop. Do you have proof?”
The scarred man’s eyes lit up seeing a young, beautiful woman. “Proof? I am the proof! Little lady, with your tender skin… why not have tea with me, and we forget this?”
He reached to touch her face.
Jingzhe’s eyes darkened, ready to act—
“Hands off!”
A sharp, commanding voice rang from outside.
Everyone turned.
Two young men entered.
The first, around twenty, wore a moon-white brocade robe with a jade belt, scholarly yet sharp eyes and steady demeanor.
Behind him, a younger teen, about seventeen, dressed in black combat attire with a high ponytail, sword at his waist, exuding the aura of a young warrior.
The white-robed youth scanned the thugs coldly, then softened his gaze when it fell on Su Yaoyao.
“Yaoyao, are you alright?”
Su Yaoyao froze.
Memories surged—years ago, a boy always held her tiny hand, took her to pick persimmons in the Grand Tutor’s backyard, awkwardly wiped her tears when she cried.
After her mother’s ‘death’ and Lady Liu taking control, contact faded.
The last time they met, she was ten. He snuck over, giving her osmanthus cakes, saying:
“Don’t be afraid, Yaoyao. Cousin will protect you.”
And then… she never saw him again.
“Cousin…” Su Yaoyao’s eyes reddened.
Jiang Jingchen—her uncle’s only son, the youngest Qinghe official at the Court of Justice.
His eyes flickered with concern as he stepped up to her. “Injured? Bullied?”
“I’m fine.” Su Yaoyao shook her head, blinking back tears. “Cousin… why are you here?”
“I heard you were auditing the shops. Father worried, so I came to see.” Jiang Jingchen’s gaze snapped to the men blocking the shop, sharp as ice.
“And you are?”
The thugs were intimidated but still defiant. “Who are you to meddle?”
“I am who?” Jiang Jingchen pulled out a token. “I am Jiang Jingchen, Junior Qinghe Official at the Court of Justice. Do you think I have the authority or not?”